Rural Cooperatives articles

Recent articles from Rural Cooperatives

California's 30-year drought.(Commentary)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] California water officials have proclaimed 2007-2009 as California's worst drought in 150 years, bringing back memories of the "dust bowl" conditions of the 1930s. While there's good reason for concern among the state's grower-owned cooperatives--which play such a...

Co-op economic footprint: multi-sector analysis estimates total co-op economic impact at $653 billion.
May 1, 2009... Cooperatives occupy a unique niche in the economy of the United States. Co-ops are engaged in a broad range of businesses: electricity distribution to rural farms and homeowners, bargaining and marketing services for agricultural producers, and delivery of home healthcare services for the...

A place at the table: NFU delegates carry family farmer concerns to Capitol Hill, White House.
May 1, 2009... Standing at the speakers' podium of the National Farmers Union (NFU) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in March, Wes Niederman was helping to herd a blizzard of NFU policy positions toward resolution. It was a day-long example of democracy in action as 600 members (142 of them voting...

Tri-State to build largest co-op solar power plant.(Utility Co-op Connection)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If all goes according to plan, by the end of next year one of the largest solar projects in the world will begin generating enough electric power to meet the needs of 9,000 homes in New Mexico. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, based near Denver,...

Waste not: large and small Minnesota dairy farms use manure digesters to produce methane gas.
May 1, 2009... In the heart of Minnesota's dairy country, two dairy co-op members are looking to a future in which farm waste will be used to supplement America's supply of electric power. Both are using technology that reduces pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and, hopefully, farm operation costs. ...